"In 6-4 B.C., Yeshua of Nazareth was born into a humble peasant family in a tiny town in the backwater hinterlands of Palestine territory on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire. It doesn't really matter if Jesus was born to an actual virgin or not - or even if he was born in Bethlehem for that matter. The point is moot. Either way, he grew up to be our savior. In fact, if Jesus wasn't born to a virgin, being born as a bastard to an unmarried teenaged peasant from the sticks on the fringe of the … [Read more...]

I'm a blogger. I'm also a pastor. Some of my better sermons have sprung forth from blogs that I've written.I recently posted a blog seeking to convey the radicalness of Mary's "magnificat" as described in Luke's Gospel - "Jesus' Mom was a Punk". It was a very popular blog that many people shared around the internet. When something I post receives that much attention, I can tell that I've touched on something that speaks to people.It occurred to me that perhaps the congregation … [Read more...]

A punk rock band should do a song based on Mary’s “Magnificat”(the song she sung according to Luke 1:46-55).In the New Testament Mary’s real name is Miriam which literally means “their rebellion.” She and her people had a lot to rebel against. The Roman Empire oppressed it's subject nations and was particularly hard on a nation on its far eastern Palestinian fringes. Israel/Judaea was a strongly monotheistic people and they resisted revering Caesar as God or Son of God and the stiff boots … [Read more...]

A proposal that may help secure world peace. Our nation is currently in negotiations with Iran regarding their pursuit of nuclear energy. We, and Israel, are concerned about Iran eventually seeking to create nuclear weapons as an extension of those efforts. The clock is ticking and we really only have 6 months left to get this resolved -- as after that, we may never know what Iran has truly been up to.Therefore, I propose the following win-win resolution to this conflict. Call Iran's bluff. … [Read more...]

it isn't about waiting for baby Jesus to be born again swaddled in a styand it isn't about waiting for Christ to return again from a cloud in the skyit's about us deepening into God's kingdom - liberated life for you and i roger wolsey Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don’t like christianity … [Read more...]

(image: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/01/08/j460.jpg) Have you seen Jesus through Jewish eyes? I must say that I haven't - at least not as fully as I have after reading a new book called The Jew Named Jesus. I know a lot about Christianity. A budding voice in progressive Christianity, some consider me an expert. But my knowledge of my faith is colored by my color. I'm a white male Protestant Christian and though I consider myself relatively well read and … [Read more...]